Covenant Medical Center evacuates basement

Covenant Medical evacuates basement

Covenant Medical Center ordered a temporary evacuation of about 20 employees from its basement Friday morning after the chemical compound halon was discharged in a small data center area.

Five of the employees who investigated the Code Red, called after a fire alarm system was triggered, were exposed to the halon, a liquefied, compressed gas to stop the spread of fire by chemically disrupting combustion.

And though halon is not considered a hazardous substance, all five employees were seen in the Emergency Department.

The Lubbock Fire Department’s hazardous materials team was called, but did not enter the building because of the lack of threat posed by the chemical.

Computer equipment in the data center was reported to be in working order.